Ylzmos
Ylzmos, also called the Bearer of Boons, the Cosmic Debtor, the Shining Idol '''and the '''God of Avarice, is a minor power of Chaos, the God of Greed, Envy and Materialism and a powerful Daemon of Slaanesh. Ylzmos began his existence as a unique, uncategorized Daemon of Slaanesh. He increased his power by feeding on mortal avarice until he became more powerful than most Greater Daemons. Ylzmos is now considered a Demi-God amongst the followers of Chaos under the influence and at the command of Slaanesh. Despite being within Slaanesh's sphere of influence, the Dark Prince grants Ylzmos a great deal of autonomy. It is this loose leash and Ylzmos own selfish nature which has lead the Demi-God to start scheming against his lord and master in the hopes that he may one day overthrow Slaanesh, and take his place as one of the overlords of the Warp. History It is unknown exactly when Ylzmos was brought into being, and given the fact that time is malleable in the Warp it may be impossible to determine a set date. What is known is that at some point Slaanesh was struck by a sudden inspiration. What it was that inspired him is lost to history. It may be that it was a time in which mortal greed and materialism was at an all time high, or perhaps it was a particularly stupendous act of avarice. Regardless Slaanesh whimsically decided to create a Daemon that was the embodiment of greed and covetousness. Thus He created Ylzmos. Ylzmos was never meant to be any great master work. He began as a weak Daemon with less power invested than that of a common Daemonette. Almost as soon as he was finished with he creation Slaanesh lost interest in it, and moved on to other distractions. Thus Ylzmos was left to his own devices. Ylzmos sought out the energies of greed within Slaanesh's realm and began to feed upon them, growing stronger. Eventually Ylzmos grew strong enough that his creator once more took notice of him. The Dark Prince was delighted to see that his/her mercurial decision to create Ylzmos had produced such a splendid Daemon. Ylzmos was raised into the ranks of Slaanesh's court. Slaanesh charged Ylzmos with teampting mortals through the promise of wealth and material possessions, and allowed Ylzmos to continue feeding upon his aspect of greed. For a time Ylzmos did exactly as he was bidden, but soon enough he was not satisfied with the favor that he had garnered from his creator. It was in Ylzmos nature to always want more than he had, and to never be satisfied. In addition he remembered how Slaanesh had abandoned him shortly after his creation. Ylzmos decided that he would free himself of Slaanesh's control and become a god in his own right, and eventually surpass Slaanesh in power. Ylzmos approached Slaanesh and smoothely tried to convince his god that he could serve him better if he had greater independence, and his own resources. Slaanesh agreed, allowing Ylzmos to create his own realm out in the Grey wastes, and granting him his own Legion of Daemonic spirits which he would be allowed to shape to his satisfaction. Ylzmos proceeded with his plan, and from there he began to divert the worship of mortals that indulged in their avarice above all else away from Slaanesh and towards him. Ylzmos believed that he had stolen one of Slaanesh's aspects right out from under his god's nose. He still payed lip service to Slaanesh, and served him in name, but in truth he now worked for his own self interest and aimed for godhood. However Ylzmos had miscalculated. Slaanesh understood the nature of his creation better than any in existence, including Ylzmos himself, and was well aware of Ylzmos' intentions. Slaanesh had allowed Ylzmos to pursue his ambitions because while Ylzmos had been granted great power, and the ability to empower himself with mortal greed, Slaanesh had long ago made Ylzmos an aspect of himself. Ylzmos had not stolen Slaanesh's aspect, but rather he embodied it, and no matter how powerful he himself became Ylzmos would ultimately only be empowering the Dark Prince further. Slaanesh allowed Ylzmos to ignorantly pursue his goals, for the more Ylzmos doggedly chased his ambitions, the more powerful Slaanesh would become. Personality Ylzmos is an extremely malevolent and selfish being as is befitting a powerful Daemon of Chaos. Ylzmos is defined by his greed and covetousness. To him the universe is merely a collection of possessions that he has yet to claim. Thus Ylzmos seeks to own all of creation, adding every treasure in the cosmos to his growing hoard. When a particular treause catches Ylzmos' eye he stops at nothing to acquire it. Filling his vaults up with everything of value whether it is some rare treasure or soul, or whether it be common, is the driving motivation of their Demigod. The only thing that Ylzmos desires as much as expanding his wealth is to expand his power. Ylzmos is aware that in spite of his power and giufts he is still but a small player in the scope of the Great Game. Ylzmos looks upon the other Chaos Gods with envy. This Avaricious creature would do anything to claim power similar to them, and this is the focus of much of his schemes. In particular he covets the power and influence of his master, Slaanesh. Ylzmos has deep resentment towards his master for abandoning him shortly after his creation. In addition Slaanesh's decision to grant Ylzmos a number of gifts and his autonomy has further fueled Ylzmos' bitter feelings, as Ylzmos views these acts as show of Slaanesh's disregard. Truly from Ylzmos perspective this seems to be a declaration from Slaanesh that Ylzmos poses no threat, and thus does not warrant caution. All of this has led Ylzmos to put usurping his master first among his priorities, and he schemes constantly to take Slaanesh's realm and aspects for himself even as he feigns loyalty and adulation towards the Dark Prince. Ylzmos views mortals as his own possessions, his followers in particular. He also views them as being in his debt. Each gift or boon that Ylzmos grants his priests and Champions is viewed as a form of lone that they are to pay back in the form of tributes, sacrifices and exapnding his assets. Ylzmos can be seemingly generous to those Champions that truly gain his favor, but as his gifts to a Champion grow so to does the returns that he expects of them. Ylzmos is a petty, selfish god, and he is quick to punish his followers if he views them as failing to pay back their debts. Ylzmos might deliver any number of cruel and unusual punishments upon those that fail to pay proper tribute in order to motivate them. If Ylzmos believes he will not get the value of his investment back then he will often claim his mortal followers, and turn them into part of his hoard. Abilities Ylzmos is a fairly unique entity in regards to his position and abilities among the creatures of the Warp. Effectively a demigod of Chaos, Ylzmos sits in a place between a Greater Daemon and a true Chaos God in power. Only the strongest Greater Daemons and Daemon Princes could contest his power, though he would be as nothing if forced to compete with a Chaos God of any real power. Unlike most Daemons Ylzmos' strength does not come directly from the amount of favor and energy that their gods have invested in them. Rather Ylzmos is capable of drawing his power directly from mortal greed, envy and materialism. In this he is very much like a Chaos God, though his power is directly linked to Slaanesh, empowering the Dark Prince just as Ylzmos grows more powerful. Befitting a being of such status Ylzmos is very formidable. He is a master of two different Lores of Sorcery. The first belongs to his creator and master Slaanesh, and the second is his own personal lore which he developed himself. Even without his Sorcery Ylzmos is a deadly foe in combat. His strength, speed and reflexes is befitting that of a Greater Daemon, far surpassing that of all but the mighteist of mortal foes and a great deal of immortal foes as well. Ylzmos goes into battle with powerful arcane wargear, some created by him, others claimed. Ylzmos can destroy a small army singlehandedly, and duel the mightiest of the galaxy's champions. Thankfully Ylzmos very rarely manifests in Real Space. His power is such that he can no longer pass the veil between realities himself, requiring a summoning to do so, and the costs of summoning him are so exorbitant that his followers can rarely achieve it. Ylzmos has a number of unique abilities. Ylzmos can see the value of anything that he gazes upon. This includes the material value of objects, but it also extends to people, for Ylzmos can see into the spirits or other beings and assess their value. Ylzmos is also a master craftsman of the Warp, being exceptionally skilled in creating chaotic artifacts and imbuing them with power. For this reason there are a number of powerful artifacts associated with Ylzmos, and they are highly sought after by mortals and Daemons alike for their potency and rarity. Ylzmos can also increase the strength and effectiveness of objects based on their material value. This is one of the most common abilities associated with Ylzmos and his ilk, and is the reason why many of his Cultists and Champions choose to incorporate their riches into their wargear. Perhaps one of Ylzmos' greatest and least known abilities is his abilitiy to sense future opportunities. For the most part Ylzmos can not directly see into the future as some other Daemons, notably those that serve Tzeentch, can. However he does have the ability to sense the possibility for gain within the currents of the Warp. It's as though he can truly smell opportunity on the winds of time. Ylzmos often uses this ability to guide his followers to success. He usually does so subtley, planting suggestions within their minds guiding them to the place where he senses gains can be made. Though in certain cases he may communicate more directly through the use of visions and omens. It is this ability which has caused others to view followers of Ylzmos as having extraordinary good luck. He is also like a Chaos God in that he can directly grant gifts, mutations and powers to his followers. As such a Champion of Ylzmos can be just a powerful as any other Chaos Champion that has been granted a similar level of favor. Most commonly Ylzmos grants his Champions his ability to see an object's value, and empowers their wargear based on the riches incorporated into it. He also commonly grants favored Champions rare and powerful artifacts. Though Ylzmos can empower Champions he is incapable of changing a his mortal followers into Daemon Princes. Ylzmos has covered up this inability by claiming that he has yet to find a worthy Champion that meets his standards. Another failing in his abilities as a upcoming Chaos God is his inability to create Daemons of his own. This is likely due to his more limited power, since the creation of a Daemon from his own energies may critically weaken Ylzmos. Ylzmos does possess unique Daemons that serve him in spite of this. Ylzmos has become skilled in altering other Daemons into creatures more suitable to his tastes. This began with the legion of unformed Daemons that Slaanesh granted him when he originally sought independence. Ylzmos took these spirits and shaped them to his liking. Ylzmos later expanded his force by enslaving other Daemons and Warp Entities, and reshaping them into his own personal daemons. He has also at times altered the souls of his departed followers into Daemons, though nothing with the independence or power of a Daemon Prince. Category:Chaos Gods Category:Daemons Category:Slaanesh Forces of Ylzmos While Ylzmos considers himself a Chaos God in his own right, the simple truth of the matter is that his power base is, while impressive for a Daemon, extremely small and obscure by the standards of the other Gods of Chaos. This is primarily because he has few servants that belonged him originally. The vast Majority of his mortal followers and even the Daemons that serve under him originally belonged to Slaanesh. Cult of Ylzmos The mortal following of Ylzmos are collectively known as the Covetous among the forces of Chaos that are aware of them. Knowledge of Ylzmos and his cultists is even rarer among the servants of the Imperium, with even most members of the Ordo Malleus assuming that they are merely dealing with Slaaneshi cults when they come across Ylzmos' followers. Given the nature of Ylzmos' relationship with the Dark Prince this assumption is not far from the truth. Most of Ylzmos' worshippers were originally members of Slaanesh's cults that Ylzmos managed to coerce into his service, convincing them to indulge in their desire for material wealth above all their other desires. While cults that worship Ylzmos tend to be small, rare and covert, Successful cults tend to enjoy greater power and influence than is normal for their size. Ylzmosian cults are usually focused on the acquisition of wealth and resources, and as a result they tend to be well equipped and can increase their influence by using that wealth to manipulate officials and trade resources with other followers of Chaos. In addition since Ylzmos' mortal following is much smaller than that of true Chaos Gods he takes a far more active role in managing and nurturing his cults and Champions, providing ample boons and guidance to his followers. This leads to his cults being fairly successful, though it is unknown how he will manage his worshippers if he ever gains a following to rival Slaanesh, or the other Gods. Followers of Ylzmos are often members of the upper class, merchants and nobles who have become obsessed with the accumulation of their fortunes, though in practice Ylzmos will take any worshipper that has an insatiable desire for material commodities. The vast majority of Ylzmos worshippers did not come into his service directly. Most often they originally followed Slaanesh, but chose to enter into worship of Ylzmos due to greed being paramount among their vices, and Ylzmos' emphasis on materialistic desire. Ylzmosian cults often take the form of affluent noble houses, guilds, businesses and secret societies for the rich and powerful. Given that Ylzmos' cults tend to be small and primarily focused on profits that usually act in the shadows, and rarely operate in the open as proper warbands or armies. Given the general emphasis on mercantile interests and intrigue over combat Ylzmosian cults have a reputation for being soft, or harmless by the Inquisition and other followers of Chaos. However this can be a dangerous misconception as Ylzmos has many powerful warriors in his employ, and the wealth that the cults accumulate through his service gives them access to great political influence and the best wargear. Worship of Ylzmos is an expensive prospect. Ylzmos considers every one of his followers to be in debt to him for the power and gifts that he bestows upon them, and the success they achieve as a result. To repay this debt Champions have to offer Ylzmos a "Tax", or regular tribute of their personal wealth. This debt continues to grow over time, and with each gift Ylzmos bestows upon his follower. As a result the size of the offerings that followers must pay become increasingly large, prompting Champions to go to great lengths to acquire enough riches to pay Ylzmos while remaining affluent. For Ylzmos' most powerful and successful Champions this is often a trivial matter, as their personal drive, competency and Ylzmos' gifts makes acquiring vast fortunes relatively simple. However for followers that prove incompetent, or Champions whofind their debt surpassing their abilities it can be nearly impossible to offer adequete payment on time. Those that default quickly and personally suffer Ylzmos' displeasure, often finding themselves turned into a Chaos Spawn, killed or altered and claimed by Ylzmos as another baubel for his hoard. Scions of Pluto The most favored of all Ylzmos' mortal followers is a small Warband of Chaos Space Marines known as the Scions of Pluto. This Warband of 60 Chaos Space Marines was originally part of the Emperor's Children. Ylzmos convinced them to dedicate themselves to him, and have since been his personal favorites. Despite their small size the Scions of Pluto are an extremely dangerous Warband. They are the center of a large network of Ylzmosian cults with answers to them and pays them tribute. As a result it is amongst the best armed Warbands proportionate to it's size, and it often goes into battle with a horde of slaves and cultists to use as fodder against their enemies. The leader of the warband is a Champion named Midas who is infamous for taking the bodies of particularly notable foes and victims and gilding them, turning them into golden statues to add to his trophies. Daemons of Ylzmos Realm God of Folly Quotes By About Category:Chaos Gods Category:Daemons Category:Slaanesh